Donald Shandler ’63, ’66 MA, PhD Redefines “Super-Aging”
With each passing year, super-ager Donald Shandler ’63, ’66 MA, PhD finds new ways to fulfill his life’s purpose. Now that his favorite query, “What about me? I’m 83” has become “But wait – there’s more – I’m 84!,” we have to ask: what will he be up to at 85?
Posted in: Alumni News and Events, Alumni Profiles
In Behind the Candy Store: The Path Forward, published in 2020, Donald Shandler ’63, ’66 MA, PhD reflected on his roots as the son of a Russian immigrant living, quite literally, in a cramped apartment behind the family’s East Orange, New Jersey candy store.
Shandler’s first attempt at college didn’t take, but working at a local supermarket inspired him to try again, this time at Montclair. “I started with courses in industrial arts, but felt drawn to communications,” he says. “I was able to combine speech arts, debate and dramatics with speech pathology and audiology.”
“University courses were profoundly enlightening for me, a first-generation college student,” he continues. “I was being introduced to things like art appreciation, literature and psychology. I began submitting articles to The Montclarion and grew as a writer. I was active in fraternity life and was always involved in one or another theater production. I had many opportunities to engage in campus life at Montclair even though I was a commuter student.”
Shandler continued his education, completing a master’s in Theatre while working as a teacher of speech and dramatics at Madison High School and running a local summer theater program. He earned a doctorate in Theatre from Ohio State University and began a career in higher education at Boston College. He advanced through roles at Washington, DC’s Graduate School USDA, Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, and Marymount University in Virginia, where he was assistant vice president of graduate programs until 2010.
Since 2011, Shandler has been teaching leadership courses in the MBA program at the University of Maryland Global Campus, where his gifts as an educator have been celebrated with the Teaching Recognition Award (2019), the Outstanding Faculty Designation Award (2020), and the Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award (2020). “It is an invigorating experience, teaching career-focused adults who are motivated to learn,” Shandler points out. “And it is exciting to work online with students from all over the world.”
Over the course of his career Shandler authored four business books and numerous academic articles in addition to Behind the Candy Store. He also served as a consultant and keynote speaker specializing in leadership development through his firm, Shandler Associates.
Shandler’s appreciation for the education he received at Montclair has grown over the years. “The instruction was so good,” he recalls. “You know, when I started teaching at Madison High School, I was assigned five classes a day,” he recalls. “It was a lot, but I felt prepared for it. And I had a solid foundation for studying at the doctoral level and pursuing a successful career in academia as well as writing, speaking and consulting.”
Living and working in North Carolina make it difficult for Shandler to visit campus often, but he enjoys keeping up with University news. “The new president is bringing a fresh sense of energy to Montclair, promoting new initiatives that are innovative and creative,” he notes with more than a little alumni pride.
He hopes that Montclair students take advantage of all of the rich educational and extracurricular activities the University offers. “The more you connect, the more you learn,” he says.
His advice is for students to document their progress: “Keep an activity log and reflect on what you accomplish from course to course and from year to year. You will be surprised at the competencies you acquire, and at how much you achieve. Not only will this help build confidence in yourself, it will prepare you to let colleagues, future employers and potential clients know just how talented and capable you are.”
Learning and growing are in Shandler’s DNA. At 84 years young, he has every intention to maintain his teaching schedule at the University of Maryland Global Campus, and he continues to write, penning short fiction stories and fun nonfiction pieces as well as more serious articles on topics of interest to university professionals.
“I take pride in considering myself a super-ager,” he says. “I clearly recognize that there are a number of reasons, and a variety of wonderful individuals, who contributed to my ultimate career success. I must also credit Montclair for launching my love for learning, and for writing. I thank the University, and all of the wonderful professors there, who helped me start an ongoing, and I hope continuing, journey.”
Don welcomes alumni to contact him at donalddshandler@gmail.com.